“No, Commander,” Ariel replied in an uneasy voice. She was beginning to wonder if this mission had been a mistake. “I had hoped for a response from the codes, but so far there has been nothing. I will continue to observe and let you know if there are any changes.”
Greg looked over at Jason, shaking his head. “I don’t like this, Jason. If even one of those platforms fires, this shuttle won’t stand much of a chance.”
“I know,” responded Jason, glancing uneasily out the cockpit window. The asteroids weren’t visible, but he knew they were there. “Lieutenant Addison, keep a close watch on the scanner screen. Greg, make sure we continue to broadcast the Avenger’s identification codes.” Jason returned his gaze to the scanner screen and the numerous contacts it was showing.
Greg leaned forward and checked the com system. Ariel was still broadcasting the codes, but there was still no response from Ceres. “Maybe the base’s computer has failed,” Greg suggested. Looking out the cockpit window, he could barely see Ceres. Out this far from the sun, there wasn’t much sunlight.
The shuttle continued its cautious approach. It would pass uncomfortably close to several of the asteroids even on its new course. From the asteroids, targeting sensors reached out and scanned the approaching shuttle. Weapons locked on and prepared to fire. No one on the shuttle was aware that they were being tracked by numerous railgun and missile platforms, any of which could blow the fragile shuttle out of space in an instant. Computers in the emplacements picked up the friendly broadcast of a Federation ship’s ID code and held their fire. Only a direct order from their command base could override the platform’s computers. The shuttle would be allowed to pass. Even so, the weapons continued to track the shuttle in case the base’s computer ordered them to fire.
Ariel picked up the targeting scans but decided it was best not to mention it to Jason. She had been expecting and hoping for this. No need to worry the crew about something they were powerless to prevent. The shuttle’s scanners and sensors remained clear of incoming ordinance, so the broadcast of the Avenger’s codes must be working. The targeting scans she had picked up proved that at least part of the Federation base must have been built. Ariel hoped that the Vindication was inside the asteroid. She would love to talk to Clarissa, the Vindication’s AI.
Long minutes passed. The shuttle continued to slow and finally came to a stop twenty miles from the massive asteroid. On the shuttle’s main viewscreen, a jagged desolate surface was revealed. The surface of Ceres was pockmarked with numerous small asteroid strikes. In many ways, it resembled the surface of the Moon.
“Any recommendations?” Jason asked as he looked out the cockpit window at the looming asteroid. “There has been no response to our signals, and I don’t see any way to knock on the door to let them know we’re here.”
“Hold position, Commander,” Ariel replied. “I am now sending a more detailed explanation as to why we are here. I am hoping this will elicit a response from the base.”
Moments later, a loud squealing noise came over the com system. At the same instant, all the lights in the shuttle flickered, and the scanner and sensor screens went blank.
“Ariel, what just happened?” Jason demanded with concern growing on his face. Were they under attack? For several moments he waited, but Ariel didn’t answer. “Ariel, are you still receiving us?”
“She’s not going to answer,” Lieutenant Addison spoke with a worried frown on this face. “There’s some type of jamming that is affecting all outgoing and incoming communication. It’s also blocking our scanners and sensors.”
“So we’re effectively blind,” said Greg, looking uncomfortably out the cockpit window at the asteroid. He felt a cold chills running down his neck as he realized how vulnerable the shuttle was. He could imagine railguns and lasers targeting the shuttle and preparing to fire.
“Yes,” replied Addison, working frantically on the touch screen on his console. He stopped and looked at Jason. “There’s nothing I can do from here.”
“At least we know the base is there and it’s active,” commented Jason, letting out a sharp breath. His eyes turned back toward the asteroid. Nothing had changed.
“What do we do now?” asked Greg, glancing over at Jason. “We can’t even attempt to talk to them if our communications are being jammed. We could use the manual flight controls and attempt to land.”
“Yes, but land where? That asteroid has more land area than the state of Texas.”
“Sir, if I am not mistaken there are new commands being transmitted to our flight computer,” Addison spoke nervously as he watched a screen on his console. “I don’t think Ariel is in control of the shuttle any longer. These commands are not coming from Ariel.”
As if to prove the lieutenant correct, the shuttle began to move slowly toward the asteroid. Down on the asteroid’s surface, a disguised hatch slid open and lights inside flicked on, illuminating a landing bay.
“I guess we’re being invited in,” Jason said, letting out a sharp breath. Suddenly the situation had been taken completely out of their control. “This base is a lot more active than what Ariel thought it would be.”
“But who has taken control of our shuttle?” asked Greg uneasily as he looked out the cockpit window at the landing bay they were approaching. He had a nervous and worried look on his face. “Are there people down there, or is this being done by a computer like Ariel? She said there was one on the Vindication. Could Clarissa be in charge of the base?”
“I don’t know,” replied Jason, trying to sound calm. He was just glad his sister didn’t know what was happening. This was just the type of danger she had warned him about.
“Addison, go get Lisa, maybe she can shed some light on this,” Jason ordered. Looking out the cockpit window, he saw the shuttle was nearing the opening of the lighted landing bay in the asteroid. In a few more minutes, they would be inside.
A few moments later, Lisa arrived in the cockpit and looking out the cockpit window, her eyes widened in surprise. “So the broadcast must have worked. That’s the base!”
“In a way,” Jason replied in a steady voice. “We have lost contact with Ariel and have no control over the shuttle. We’re being flown into that landing bay ahead by remote control.”
Lisa was silent as she mulled over what Jason had just said. “We were not expecting anything like this. I don’t know what to tell you other than we don’t want to resist or do anything that might be construed as being threatening. If this is a computer that is in control, it might consider any such move as justification to destroy the shuttle. Remember, this is supposed to be a military base.”
“That’s just great,” muttered Greg, rubbing his forehead in exasperation. “This just gets better every minute.”
“No one said this trip was going to be boring,” Jason reminded him with a forced smile.
“It’s definitely not boring,” Greg replied with an agreeing nod. Looking ahead, he tried to peer into the landing bay, but he still couldn’t see anything.
Everyone in the cockpit continued to watch as the shuttle was finally maneuvered into the landing bay. The shuttle landed gently on the deck and, as soon as it was down, the doors to the landing bay slid shut, sealing them in.
“Interference has stopped,” reported Lieutenant Addison seeing all of his screens return to normal.
“Don’t send any messages or attempt to scan our surroundings,” Lisa warned, her blue eyes boring into Lieutenant Addison. “Shut the sensors and scanners down.”
Addison looked at Jason. “Do as she says, Lieutenant,” Jason ordered. He trusted Lisa’s judgment. After all, she was the computer expert. “What do you suggest, Lisa?”
“I think we should wait inside the shuttle and see if we’re contacted. If nothing happens, then we can send the Avenger’s ID codes one more time with a question as to what we are expected to do. The message should mention that we have valuable information for the base. That should elicit a response from the computer that
’s in control.”
“Do you think it’s Clarissa?” asked Jason, wondering if the Vindication’s AI was doing this.
“I don’t know,” Lisa replied slowly. “I would have thought Clarissa would have responded to Ariel.”
“Then I guess we wait,” spoke Jason, taking a deep breath.
Looking out the cockpit window, he could see they were inside a large landing bay similar to the flight bay back on the Avenger. Only this one was about ten times that size. Over to one side were parked several more shuttles, and as he continued to gaze around he could see over a dozen space fighters parked over next to one wall.
“Do you see those fighters, Jason?” Greg asked, his eyes lighting up with excitement. “They look completely intact! I hope we get a chance to look them over.”
“Lisa, is there any possibility of there being survivors still inside this base?” Jason asked. From what he could see and what had happened so far, he couldn’t imagine a computer doing all of this. There had to be humans involved somewhere.
“According to Doctor Oleson, there is a slim possibility. If they were successful in quarantining everyone that had flu like symptoms, they had the doctors and medical research staff to eventually perfect a vaccine. They could have survived. But if they did, why haven’t they contacted us before now?”
“I don’t know,” Jason replied. “I guess we will find out shortly.”
-
For 30 heart-stopping minutes, they waited. There were no incoming messages from the base, and Ariel was still silent. Evidently, something in the material used to construct the base prevented communication signals from entering and exiting. Jason had everyone go to the passenger compartment so they could decide what to do next.
“I guess we go out,” Jason said, looking around the small group. “Lieutenant Addison, you and Professor Tennyson will stay inside the shuttle. I want someone here in case the base attempts to make contact. The rest of us will go into the base and see what we can find. It’s looking to me like a computer is in charge. If there were people here, we should have seen an armed welcoming committee by now. I can’t imagine a military base allowing a strange shuttle to land in their landing bay and not responding to it.”
“I agree, Commander,” Lisa commented with a nod. “I don’t think it’s Clarissa either. If it were the Vindication’s AI, she would have contacted us. This may indeed be the base’s computer, and it may well be acting on a predetermined set of protocols.”
“Then I guess we go out and introduce ourselves to this computer,” Jason replied.
A few minutes later, the small group of six walked down the shuttle’s extended ramp. Once they were down, Jason signaled Lieutenant Addison. The ramp slid back into the shuttle and the hatch closed. They were all wearing tan spacesuits from the Avenger. They were lightweight and much more comfortable than the bulky NASA spacesuits they were all so familiar with.
“We have artificial gravity,” spoke Greg, realizing that his weight felt normal.
Greg’s eyes swept across the bay expecting to see a welcoming committee appear at any moment, but the bay remained empty of movement. His eyes lingered on the space fighters. He would really like to go over and check them out, but now was not the time. Perhaps later there would be a better opportunity.
“There’s a hatch over on that wall,” commented Adam, pointing toward it. “We should be able to get out of the landing bay from there.”
“Let’s see what’s behind it,” said Jason.
Reaching the hatch Jason attempted to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. Turning to look at Lisa, he asked. “Any ideas?” He didn’t like the idea of being trapped in the bay. They were too exposed.
“Just a moment,” replied Lisa, turning on a small data pad she was carrying in her right hand. She skimmed through several pages of data until she found what she wanted. She then stepped over to a small key pad on the wall next to the hatch and entered a series of numbers. Like magic, the hatch opened with a slight hissing noise. “Ariel gave me some command codes that she thought would allow us to get inside.”
“So said the spider to the fly,” murmured Greg, gazing nervously at the now wide open hatch. A brightly lighted corridor could be seen on the other side.
“You must like that saying,” Jason responded, with a nervous laugh. He remembered Greg saying the same thing when they had originally been exploring the wreck on the Moon. “Well, let’s see what we can find.” With that, Jason stepped through the hatch with the others following close behind.
They found themselves in a small, short corridor with closed hatches on both ends. All the lights were on, and the corridor looked as if it had been built yesterday. Everything looked new and clean.
“This doesn’t look like an old base built nearly 100 years ago,” Greg stated. “There’s no dust and no signs of wear. Which way?”
“Let’s try that hatch first,” replied Jason, pointing toward the nearest. Going to the hatch, he opened it and found it was actually a large air lock.
Everyone crowded inside, and once the hatch was shut, a series of different colored lights began coming on. Each light stayed on for about twenty seconds and then another series of colored lights would come on.
“What’s going on?” Karl Stern asked, confused.
“Decontamination,” replied Doctor Andrea Oleson, gazing speculatively at the lights. “I would guess we are being bombarded with specific radiation frequencies aimed at destroying microorganisms.”
“Are they safe?” Greg asked. He still wanted to have some more kids some day.
“Should be,” Andrea replied.
“I don’t understand,” said Lisa, sounding confused. “If they had this type of decontamination procedure 100 years ago, why didn’t it work against the flu?”
“This might be something they instituted afterwards,” Andrea responded.
Doctor Oleson wished she knew what the frequencies were. This was medical science considerably ahead of anything Earth was capable of. This type of decontamination could be of great use in hospitals and other areas where the threat of contagious diseases being spread existed.
The lights suddenly returned to normal, and a light liquid spray began spraying from the walls, floor, and ceiling. This continued for a full minute and then the room began heating up.
“More decontamination,” Andrea explained with a satisfied nod. “Commander, I don’t believe this is being done by a computer. There has to be someone in charge. There has to be a reason why we are being subjected to these decontamination procedures.”
“It could be the AI on the Vindication,” responded Lisa, turning to face Andrea. “She is very similar to Ariel, and this could now be part of her programming in order to keep the base safe.”
“But why, if there are no survivors from the evacuation fleet?” Andrea countered. Then, turning to face Jason, she continued. “No Commander, this isn’t a computer. I think we need to be prepared to meet survivors very shortly. Perhaps on the other side of that door!”
Jason looked around the group. He felt that Doctor Oleson might be correct. “If we do encounter someone, don’t make any sudden moves. I will do the talking.”
A noise attracted Jason’s attention and, turning around, he saw the hatch opposite the one they had just come through start to open. The hatch swung slowly open, and Jason gestured for the others to follow him. Stepping cautiously through he came to a sudden stop, letting out a sharp breath and slowly raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture. The others behind him did the same thing.
Standing in front of Jason were six heavily armed men, all in dark blue military uniforms. All six had their weapons leveled at Jason and the people with him. From the looks on their faces, they were prepared to use them if necessary.
“We mean no harm,” Jason spoke over his suit’s com system, hoping these people could understand him. Doctor Oleson had been right. There were survivors!
One of the men stepped forward and gazed speculati
vely at Jason. He raised a small communication device to his mouth and spoke into it, never taking his eyes off of Jason.
“Commander Strong, you will follow Captain Simms to our detention area until we decide what to do with you,” a female voice spoke over the suit’s com system.
“Clarissa?” asked Jason wondering if the female voice was the AI on the Vindication.
“That’s correct, Commander Strong. We have been monitoring you for quite some time. You will not be harmed, but we need to awaken some people who are more qualified to deal with this situation.”
“Can you contact Ariel and let her know we’re okay?” Jason asked.
He knew the AI and Colonel Greene would be extremely worried since communication had been lost so abruptly. Ariel might believe the shuttle had been destroyed by the base’s defensive systems. If they were reported missing, he didn’t want to think about what his sister and Greg’s wife would feel like. It would be devastating to them.
“Perhaps later,” Clarissa replied noncommittally. “That is not my decision to make. The admiral will have to decide that. Now please follow Captain Simms.”
“Better do as she asks,” Lisa suggested. She had been following the conversation over her suit com system. She was thrilled to learn that the other AI had survived. “Clarissa said we wouldn’t be harmed.”
They followed Captain Simms through a series of brightly lit corridors until they arrived at a large room with a number of chairs, a few tables, and some bunks against one wall. There was another door on the far end.
“You will remain here until the admiral is ready to see you,” Clarissa informed them. “Once Captain Simms and his marines have left, you may remove your suits. You will find suitable clothing to wear through the door at the far end of the room. This facility is quite secure, and there is no way for you to leave without the door being opened from the outside.”
“Are we prisoners?” asked Jason, wanting to know what their status was. At least they hadn’t been separated.
Slaver Wars 1: Moon Wreck Page 14